Ethics complaint against councilwoman dismissed

The complaint alleged Aguilar violated the city’s code of ethics when she voted against a 389-unit condominium project proposed for a 18.4-acre site at the southwest corner of Wueste Road and Olympic Parkway, accusing Aguilar of putting the interests of the civic organization Crossroads II before the best interest of the larger community.

Aguilar served as the president for Crossroads II from 2003 to 2009. She is also the co-founder of the organization.

“Ms. Aguilar has been the ‘face and voice’ of Crossroads for at least the last six years. Ms. Aguilar has not stepped down from that position,” the Jan. 10 grievance states.

The group announced earlier this month that David Danicu would replace Aguilar as the president of the grassroots civic organization.

Who filed the complaint was not made public. City policy is to withhold the names of those who file ethics complaints unless the Board of Ethics decides to proceed with an investigation. The board elected not to investigate.

Aguilar has only been in office for about three months. She said she was glad the matter was dismissed, but remains uncomfortable not knowing who made the accusations.

“I don’t know who it is and that feels a little strange to me because a basic thing in the American justice system is your right to face your accuser,” she said.

At issue was a multimillion dollar development project that failed to secure council approval at a Dec. 14 session. Aguilar voted against it because it had not gone through a full design-review process.

“I don’t think that the quality of design of this project is commensurate with the opportunities and the assets that the site provides,” Aguilar said at that meeting.

In August, the council decided to streamline the development-approval process, hoping to attract more builders and developers to the city.

Aguilar served on the committee that recommended those changes, which included reducing upfront costs for developers, enhancing the public notification system and abdicating a formal design review.

“I’m appalled by this sabotaging of the process that we all adopted,” Councilwoman Pamela Benssousan said at the Dec. 14 meeting.

After the project went through a formal Design Review Board meeting at the request of the council and secured full support from that board, Aguilar still voted against it, saying she could not be supportive of the development.

In a letter addressed to the Board of Ethics, Crossroads II vice-president Peter Watry said the complaint filed contained several errors, including dates and position changes within the Crossroads II organization and Aguilar’s role since her election.

“I have been an active community activist in Chula Vista since the early 1970s, and I kind of resent the implication that I do not know the rules of what council members can do and cannot do,” Watry said. “We have all been most careful of all our actions.”